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2 • THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014
THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014 • 3
CREDITS PUBLISHER
Street Press Australia Pty Ltd
GROUP MANAGING EDITOR Andrew Mast
NATIONAL EDITOR MAGAZINES Mark Neilsen
EDITOR Steve Bell
ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR Cassandra Fumi
GIG GUIDE EDITOR Justine Lynch gigs@themusic.com.au
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Bryget Chrisfield
CONTRIBUTORS Alice Bopf, Amorina Fitzgerald-Hood, Anthony Carew, Baz McAlister, Ben Marnane, Ben Preece, Benny Doyle, Bradley Armstrong, Brendan Telford, Brie Jorgensen, Carley Hall, Chris Yates, Cyclone, Dan Condon, Daniel Johnson, Dave Drayton, Guy Davis, Helen Stringer, Jake Sun, Jazmine O’Sullivan, Lochlan Watt, Madeleine Laing, Mandy McAlister, Michael Smith, Mitch Knox, Paul Mulkearns, Roshan Clerkea, Sam Hobson, Sky Kirkham, Sophie Blackhall-Cain, Tessa Fox, Tom Hersey, Tony McMahon, Tyler McLoughlan
THIS WEEK THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK • 29 OCT - 4 NOV 2014
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There’s nothing better than killing two birds with one stone, and this weekend you get to help raise some much-needed funds for marine conservation while simultaneously watching some awesome bands! This Saturday (1 Nov) Rock For The Reef takes over the beautiful Brisbane Powerhouse from 2-11pm, and you can catch bands such as Deep Sea Arcade, The Medics, Toni Childs and much, much more.
Do you like great outdoors, but get frightened by things that go bump in the night? Ben & Jerry’s Openair Cinemas are bringing the fun to Halloween this year, with their ‘Flick & Treat’ bash on (naturally) Friday 31 Oct including two scary movies – What We Do In The Shadows and Dracula Untold – as well as DJs, fancy dress competitions, bean bags, deckchairs, blankets food, drinks. You’d be a ghoul to miss it!
Jarrod Kendall, Leanne Simpson, Loretta Zoppos, Niall McCabe accounts@themusic.com.au
DISTRO Anita D’Angelo distro@themusic.com.au
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CONTACT US Phone: (07) 3252 9666 info@themusic.com.au www.themusic.com.au Street: Suite 11/354 Brunswick Street Fortitude Valley QLD 4006 Postal: Locked Bag 4300 Fortitude Valley QLD 4006
Mullum Music Festival takes over the halls, pubs and streets of Mullumbimby on the NSW North Coast, 15 minutes north of Byron Bay, 20 – 21 Nov. The festival’s diverse line-up and relaxed, unpretentious atmosphere makes it a favourite with punters and musicians looking for new music and a different festival experience. This year’s line-up includes The Church, Hurray For The Riff Raff, Husky, Harry James Angus, Frank Yamma, Nai Palm, Saskwatch and more. MMF and The Music are offering readers the chance to experience the festival in all its glory with a silver double pass (valued at $400) up for grabs. For your chance to win, head over to themusic.com.au/win. BRISBANE
THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014 • 5
national news news@themusic.com.au
DRAKE
65DAYSOFSTATIC
65DOS
65daysofstatic post-rock raves are huge in their own right. They’re touring nationally off the back of Wild Light. 8 & 9 Mar, Northcote Social Club, Melbourne; 10 Mar, Manning Bar, Sydney; 11 Mar, The Hi-Fi, Brisbane; and 12 Mar, Amplifier Bar, Perth. Proudly presented by The Music.
PRETTY IN PINK
There’s been massive hype surrounding the return of Ariel Pink with his new single Black Ballerina, which features on his upcoming album, pom pom. Naturally, the LA-based musician has will be taking his new tunes around the country: 24 Jan, Sugar Mountain, Melbourne; 25 Jan, The Brightside, Brisbane; 27 Jan, Oxford Art Factory, Sydney; and 29 Jan, The Bakery, Perth.
ALT-J
BACK FOR MORE
Alt-J aren’t going to make you hold your breath – they effortlessly sold out a bunch of shows on their recent stint in the country supporting their latest record, This Is All Yours, so they’ve decided to come back in May next year: 8 May, Riverstage, Brisbane; 9 May, Qantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney; 10 May, Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne; and 15 May, HBF Stadium, Perth.
ALL OF JOHN
After proving a massive hit at Alicia Keys’ shows last year, John Legend is taking single All Of Me on a national tour: Qantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney, 5 Dec, Brisbane Convention Centre, 8 Dec; and The Plenary, Melbourne 12 Dec. He’ll also be doing A Day On The Green shows: Bimbadgen Winery, Hunter Valley, 6 Dec; Rochford Wines, Yarra Valley, 13 Dec; and Kings Park, Perth, 16 Dec.
TILDA COBHAM HERVEY IN ONE EYED GIRL
AUSSIE THRILLS
South Australian psychological thriller One Eyed Girl has won the Jury Award at this year’s Austin Film Festival in the Dark Matters category. It’s written by Nick Matthews and Craig Behenna, directed by Matthews, and stars Tilda Cobham-Hervey (52 Tuesdays) and Mark Leonard Winter (Van Diemen’s Land). The story of a psychiatrist who is haunted by the death of a former patient and tries to save a girl from the grips of a Doomsday cult, the film is released in Australia on 2 Apr.
DIRTY DAN
Ahead of the release of Dan Sultan’s new solo EP Dirty Ground on 7 Nov, he has announced tour dates. He’ll travel around the nation performing in intimate solo mode, stopping by Zoo Twilights, Melbourne Zoo, 13 Feb; Fremantle Arts Centre, 28 Feb; Powerhouse Theatre, Brisbane, 10 Mar; Twilight at Taronga, Taronga Zoo, Sydney, 13 Mar; and Street Theatre, Canberra, 18 & 19 Mar. More dates on theMusic.com.au.
100% #FULLPUTIN @ DANCINGAU #DANCINGAU MARK HOLDEN [@HOLDENBROSTC] PROBABLY TRENDED ON TWITTER. UGH. 6 • THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014
NOW WE’RE HERE
Everybody’s favourite emo rap prince Drake is heading our way for the first time for Future Music Festival. He will be joined by Avicii and The Prodigy as the headline acts for next year. The line-up also features Nero, Die Antwoord, Example, 2 Chainz, Afrojack, Sigma and Kiesza, plus more. Future Music Festival comes to Royal Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, 28 Feb; Arena Joondalup, Perth, 1 Mar; RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane, 7 Mar; and Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, 8 Mar.
SEE THE LIGHT
A founding member of Joy Division and New Order, Peter Hook has announced his return to Australian shores with his band The Light. The tour, taking place February next year, will see Hook and band play New Order’s third and fourth albums Low Life and Brotherhood in their entirety. They’ll also play a supporting slot for themselves filled with Joy Division classics. See the show at Astor Theatre, Perth, 14 Feb; The Tivoli, Brisbane, 18 Feb; Metro Theatre, Sydney, 19 Feb; and Corner Hotel, Melbourne, 21 Feb.
SOMETHING IN THE WATER
Nahko & Medicine For The People return to Australia for their Water Is Life tour in November. The band will channel their folk/rock/reggae music into a compelling live performance at AWME at The Hi-Fi, Melbourne, 14 Nov; The Hi-Fi, Brisbane, 19 Nov; The Hi-Fi, Sydney, 25 Nov; 4 Dec; and Fly By Night, Fremantle, 6 Dec. See theMusic.com.au for full list of dates.
THE MACY WAY
Recently releasing her ninth album, The Way, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Macy Gray (remember smash hit I Try?) is returning for another Australian tour in March. Her tour kicks off 7 Mar at Palais Theatre, Melbourne; then 8 Mar heads to Perth Concert Hall; 14 Mar, The Tivoli, Brisbane; 17 Mar, Lizottes Newcastle; and finishes 19 Mar, Enmore Theatre, Sydney.
ARIA LIVE PERFORMERS
So who’ll be taking the stage at the 2014 ARIA Awards on 26 Nov at The Star? We already knew about 5 Seconds Of Summer. Now we know that Album Of The Year nominees Chet Faker and Sheppard, as well Hilltop Hoods and Justice Crew, will perform. More to be announced. The ARIAs will be broadcast on Ten.
JONSON STREET BYRON BAY
FRI 31 OCT
HALLOWEEN WITH DRUNK MUMS, ELEGANT SHIVA, JESSE PUMPHREY & DJ CHRIS BRADLEY SAT 1 NOV
YOUNGER DRYAS, BOSS MOXI FRI 7 NOV
YACHT CLUB DJS SAT 8 NOV
TWIN HAUS FRI 14 NOV
KING OF THE NORTH SAT 15 OCT
VIOLENT SOHO FRI 21 NOV
THE RUMINATERS SAT 22 NOV
THE ART SUN 23 NOV
SAN CISCO TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLINE WWW.THENORTHERN.COM.AU
THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014 • 7
local news
FRONTLASH STILL OUT THERE...
It could have had a few more punters, but the inaugural Out On The Weekend Festival was a great celebration of all things Americana. Is there such a thing as too much cool music?
NO MOSS It’s great that the Stones’ tour of Oz has finally kicked off in anger, reports sounding like the old dogs have still got the magic. Bring on the Brissie show!
BRAND POWER So apparently Russell Brand is thinking about running for Mayor of London. What’s the worst that could happen? We’re just about the right distance away where this could actually be entertaining if it comes to fruition...
qld.news@themusic.com.au
WRONG COUNTRY
CMC Rocks QLD has finalised its huge international line-up, with the majority of artists coming from abroad. Lady Antebellum is joined by Big & Rich, Chris Young and Lee Bruce as well as a sprinkling of Australian artists, including John Williamson and Adam Brand. 13 – 15 Mar, Willowbank Raceway.
WORTH A MILLION
Millions are hitting the road on their For Your Leisure & Pleasure tour in November and December, which will heavily feature tracks from their new debut record, Max Relax. Check it out when they play 5 Dec, The Brightside; 6 Dec, Great Northern Hotel, Byron Bay; 7 Dec, Alhambra Lounge; and 12 Dec, Elsewhere, Gold Coast.
SLICK RAP
G-Eazy, aka Gerald Earl Gillum, whose second album, These Things Happen topped the Billboard Hip Hop/R&B and Top Rap Albums Charts, is heading Down Under for an east coast tour that will see him take over The Zoo, 13 Feb.
THEY GREW HERE
BACKLASH MASKED THREAT
The guys calling themselves ‘Faceless’ went to a lot of effort in Canberra to make their point, the point seemingly being that they’re culturally insensitive and borderline racist. Strange times...
KARL BOMB
Fresh from a showcase at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City, Karl S Williams returns with first single Time Bomb, off his latest album Heartwood. In between festival slots, Williams plays Black Bear Lodge, 17 Dec; Solbar, Sunshine Coast, 18 Dec and The Soundlounge, Gold Coast, 19 Dec.
SMOKING EBOLA At least being at the ass end of the earth made us think that Brisbane might be safe from Ebola, then someone arrives from Africa kicking off a scare here. Isn’t the G20 enough for us to worry about?
DEF CON TWO? Mos Def putting on an intimate club show in Brisbane seemed too good to be true, and it was. What’s with the mainstream rap world’s loose approach to showing up to gigs?
8 • THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014
OR FOREVER HOLD YOUR PIECE
TROJAN HORSE
Though set during the Trojan War Or Forever Hold Your Piece is a stage show of 18 performers from La Boite Theatre Company that still holds political relevance today, and will be especially poignant coinciding with the G20 Summit, running from 12 – 29 Nov at the Roundhouse Theatre.
PARQUET COURTS
ON THE COURTS
New York rockers Parquet Courts have announced a handful of Golden Plains sideshows. The indie outfit, who emerged as one of the buzz bands out of last year, will play three headline dates including one at The Zoo, 5 Mar.
BANANAS
The Dickies have announced their first-ever Australian tour. Formed all the way back in 1977, they’ve kept on chugging thanks to their crazy live shows and out-of-the-blue smash hit singles: Prince Of Wales Hotel, 17 Apr.
HANDS IN THA AIR
The B-Boy World Championships Tour is set to come to Australia for the first time. Each show date will consist of two performances: a matinee event for families and underage fans, and an evening 18+ event more suited to local underground crews. The line-up features two-time UK B-Boy Championship finalist Brooke Milliner, the first female World Popping Champion DeyDey (France); World Popping Champion Greenteck (Canada) and many more: The Arts Centre Gold Coast, 16 Jan; and The Hi-Fi, 17 Jan.
SPACING OUT
Melbourne-based psychedelic rockers AlithiA have announced their national tour following the release of the band’s new single Here I Am. Get some astral spacecore in your ear-holes at Beetle Bar, 28 Nov.
LET GO
Andromeda a new electronic arts festival is opening at Ivory’s Rock, 45 minutes west of Brisbane. They’re asking you to let go of everything you know. Highlights announced so far include Jonas Kopp, Darko Esser and Tripeo. 22 – 23 Nov.
YES, INTERNET I UNDERSTAND THAT I’M A BALDING-TWERP-FAGGOT. IT DOESN’T DISTRACT FROM THE FACT OUR GOVERNMENT ILLEGALLY TORTURES INNOCENTS. X JOSH THOMAS [@JOSHTHOMAS87] DROPS SOME TRUTH BOMBS.
local news qld.news@themusic.com.au THE CLEAN
CONOR OBERST
CONOR RETURNS
Conor Oberst is set to take over the east side of the country next February and March. He’ll be showcasing his latest release, Upside Down Mountain, but there will definitely be plenty of room for his treasured back catalogue: 25 Feb, The Triffid.
MOSH FOR A CAUSE
The Mosh For Daniel Festival – which aims to raise funds for the Daniel Morcombe Foundation – takes place on 8 Nov at The Sands Tavern on the Sunshine Coast, and will feature ten heavy bands from the Gold Coast and Brisbane who’re all in it for the cause. Bands playing at the festival include Darkc3ll, Countdown To Armageddon, Holistic, Hope In Hand, Undermine and more. Get down there and show your support.
SCRUBBING UP NICELY
Over 25 years, New Zealand proprietors of DIY and champions of the Flying Nun label The Clean have forged a hugely influential career. Catch ‘em 25 Jan, The Brightside.
ALYUTATIONS
Japanese noise-pop producer Cornelius returns with J-pop singer Salyu to perform their salyu x salyu project as part of Sydney Festival. They’ll also play Future Beauty Up Late at GOMA, 30 Jan.
DOCTOR’S ORDERS
Kasey Chambers has had to postpone her Bittersweet tour dates due to vocal cord inflammation. She’ll now be playing 14 Feb, The Tivoli; alongside already announced festival appearances.
GET ROMANTIC
Andras Fox and Oscar Key Sung are Andras & Oscar, and they’ve just released their debut album, Café Romantica. Check out one of their launch shows: 5 Dec, Alhambra Lounge.
HERE & THERE
Last time Brooklyn singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten was in Australia, she turned heads by performing on Sunrise and covering Nick Cave’s People Ain’t No Good for triple j’s Like A Version. This time, she returns to Australia with a full band: 4 Mar, The Zoo.
THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014 • 9
music
WHERE THE HEART IS Misfits of the world rejoice, because ragtag New Orleans ensemble Hurray For The Riff Raff are giving beautiful voice to your collective plight. Creative heartbeat Alynda Lee Segarra talks to Steve Bell about keeping the folk tradition alive in a world requiring empathy more than ever.
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he term ‘itinerant’ doesn’t even begin to describe the amazing journey that Hurray For The Riff Raff mainstay Alynda Lee Segarra undertook after leaving her familial home in New York borough the Bronx a few years back. Setting off at the tender age of 17, she criss-crossed the country by any means possible – often hopping freight trains in the finest tradition of Woody Guthrie and Jack Kerouac
“When I first went there I didn’t know really how to play music at all – I could play a couple of Nirvana songs on guitar, left over from my angsty childhood. So I played the washboard just because I wanted to be involved – I just loved the idea of playing music on the street – and also because I was really broke, so it just seemed like the best thing to do. Then from there I went to banjo, and by that time I was already playing in a band that was travelling around, so I learned how to play banjo in North Carolina – and I learned how to play clawhammer style – and then when I went back to New Orleans was when I first started
him I was able to go back further and find Woody Guthrie and find Alan Lomax recordings, and that was where I fell in love with it. I was always searching for that old sound, and just those old songs that felt like they were so real and so raw. People telling their stories – their life stories and their ancestors’ stories – I just really love that about American folk music. “And if the story’s good you can just keep it going – that’s what I love. It’s like a game of telephone. What we try to do is take that story and make it modern, but keep all the good parts – keep the base of it – but change it to our time, and I think that’s the most exciting way to be a part of it. That’s what I think a lot of the greats have done – that’s what Woody Guthrie did and that’s what Dylan did – so we’re trying to just continue that tradition of taking those songs and adding onto them.” Lyrically, Segarra has never shied away from either personal or societal politics in Hurray For The Riff Raff ’s deeply-affecting music. Their most recent album Small Town Heroes – the band’s fifth studio full-length – perfectly encapsulates this willingness to explore topics which others deem too contentious. One track in particular, The Body Electric, is incredibly moving as it explores the socially taboo topic of a gang rape which actually occurred in Delhi in 2012; is important for Segarra to tackle such serious issues in her music?
“I WAS ALWAYS SEARCHING FOR THAT OLD SOUND, AND JUST THOSE OLD SONGS THAT FELT LIKE THEY WERE SO REAL AND SO RAW.”
– before settling on the music mecca of New Orleans as a place to set up home on a more permanent basis. And didn’t The Big Easy welcome her with open arms. In a few short years she received an on-the-job musical education while playing on the streets, formed her folk-blues ensemble Hurray For The Riff Raff and before long was taking this newfound love of old-time Americana to the world at large. She even got to show off her beguiling music on acclaimed TV series Treme, which focused on the city’s rich musical heritage. Segarra remains completely appreciative of the opportunities afforded her thusly by New Orleans, the cultural melting pot which deservedly holds the mantle of America’s most unique and distinctive city. “It takes a very long time to be considered a local, because a lot of people are coming in and out all the time,” she smiles. “It’s a place where a lot of people visit but not a lot of people live. But now that I’ve been on tour so much, it’s like I’m not considered a local – I’m hardly there! But people who are from there are so proud of their culture and their families have been there so long, so it definitely has that feel that you can live there for ten years and still not be a local. But at the same time I found that New Orleans people took me in, and were so supportive of me, and they’re very willing to share their culture and teach it to outsiders. 10 • THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014
learning more about the chords in jazz songs, and playing along with jazz bands and stuff like that. That taught me a lot about singing too.” The music of Hurray For The Riff Raff has a timeless feel, filtering the best traits of the music of yesteryear through a more modern context. Segarra explains that she’s long felt an affinity with the music of generations past. “Yeah, I always was attracted to old music,” she tells. “In high school the first thing I ever heard that felt old like that was Johnny Cash – he’s sort of a good bridge for young punk kids. He was the bridge between punk rock attitude and classic country music, and of course from
“That was always my dream, to be honest,” she admits. “I felt really unhappy with the music I made before, because it felt like those songs were stepping-stones towards something – the greater goal. That’s why this album feels so satisfying, because I was able to really finally incorporate these ideas that mean so much to me, that I’ve learned from reading feminist theory books or just my experience in life. I really wanted to just meld that with the music, and I felt that it was so hard to do it without coming off as being preachy or being corny – with my generation it’s so hard to talk about a political issue and be taken seriously. So I felt like it finally clicked with that song, and I’m really excited to just see where it takes me. “In the earlier music I was really just working off personal experience, just trying to share the hard parts of my life. Every time I was speaking to someone I was speaking to myself, and I felt like that really is how music has influenced me. I remember seeing an interview with John Lennon when he talked about how all of his songs were written for him, but if they reach somebody else then that’s great. I guess I felt like there’s a lot of feminist theory behind the idea that the personal is the political, and that’s where I was working from in the beginning; ‘Well, I’ll just be really raw and just lay it all out there, and if people hear this and it sticks with them then that’s great’. And now I feel like I’ve been able to refine that a little bit, just make it more musical.
I feel like it’s a process of making it about the song, instead of just this really intense emotion that people have to listen to. It can be a little bit more melodic.” The country music scene in which Hurray For The Riff Raff move these days is notoriously conservative. Segarra herself identifies as queer and one of her bandmates (fiddle player Yosi Pearlstein) is openly transgender, traits which emerge regularly in the band’s narratives. Have they had any backlash from addressing feminist or queer issues in this oft-insular realm? “You know, you’d think that we would, but really I think we just get ignored by those people,” Segarra laughs. “I think most of those people don’t even know we exist, or just write us off, like, ‘Whatever, who are those guys?’ We’ve never really got any negative reaction, I feel like we’re just attracting the people who have been waiting for something like this, or just people who are excited to see something new. Even if they don’t identify as queer or as a feminist they’re just excited that there’s something different going on, and they identify with being a weirdo. So we haven’t really had that much negative reaction to be honest, which is great.”
Hurray For The Riff Raff ’s aural aesthetic has morphed significantly over the years – is it still evolving or does she feel like they’ve found the essence of the band’s sound? “We’ve definitely found the essence of it – if anything Small Town Heroes is a really good mixture of what people liked about our earlier records, and then [2012 fourth album] Look Out Mama,” Segarra tells. “I think we’ve finally found a middle ground. But we’re always trying to evolve – we definitely feel like we’ve found our sound, and now it’s really exciting to just continually grow. I just want to write better and better songs, I guess. I always want to feel like there’s better stuff ahead, or else I’ll just get bored.”
WHAT: Small Town Heroes (ATO/[PIAS] Australia) WHEN & WHERE: 22 & 23 Nov, Mullum Music Festival, Mullumbimby
HIP, HIP HURRAY! On the verge of Hurray For The Riff Raff ’s first ever Australian sojourn, Segarra explains that there’s not a huge gulf between the band’s studio and onstage appeal. “I definitely feel like we’ve gotten really good at making it more of a show – we’ve played so much in the last couple of years that our stage show has become more exciting, and I feel that we really try and bring a little bit of everything from the records,” she enthuses. “We try to have my singer-songwriter tunes that are more stripped-down, and much more personal between me and the audience, but then we also try to bring in New Orleans-vibed show feel, which is more energetic. If anything some of the songs just have more energy – they’re just a little bit more rockin’ – because we wanna give the audience a good time. We try to cover all the bases. “We’ve worked so hard at getting to that place where you can just have fun – it’s actually harder that you think. I wouldn’t say that myself and Yosi the fiddle player are naturally outgoing people, so it’s been a lot of years of touring and finally getting comfortable onstage and finally getting comfortable with the audience, and it’s just been such a great journey. Now we’re enjoying ourselves more than we ever have, so it’s just great.”
THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014 • 11
music
THE FUNNY SIDE
album in Nashville. I’m really enjoying writing new songs all the time and challenging myself.
He never imagined he’d be celebrating ten years of the Grass Roots Music Festival, but the now Nashvillebased Far North Queenslander 8 Ball Aitken is well pleased it is, as he tells Michael Smith.
“I
t’s cool to know that it’s lasted this long,” 8 Ball Aitken, the founder of the Grass Roots Music Festival, celebrating its tenth year, admits. “Because we’d only ever set out to do it once. I think it just worked, the concept of it made sense, and that was having roots music in a garden and showcasing Brisbane songwriters.” Supported by Brisbane City Council, the free, all-ages concert includes Brisbane River bluesman Coojee
Timms, 2014 Toyota Starmaker winner, Jared Porter, dirt blues band Cleveland Blues, Megan Cooper, Harmony James, Red Crow and Tiama Ogburn, as well as, of course, the host, Aitken himself, who will be previewing material from his forthcoming album, The New Normal, his fourth in four years. “I’m always on the road,” Aitken explains. “I did 220 shows last year and divide my time between Nashville and Brisbane, but I’m pretty much always on the road anyway, and I’ve been working on the new
music
While his own albums remain 100 per cent 8 Ball Aitken, the songwriter has been collaborating on other projects with Nashville songwriters, another source of inspiration. “Whenever you co-write, it’s like a training session because you’re learning new things and thinking about songwriting in different ways. I’ve now got 12 songs that I can’t relate to anything I’ve ever done on any previous record, which makes me happy, to know I’m expanding my thought processes. “I’ve got some buddies in Texas – Ray Wiley Hubbard and Guthrie Kennard – and I love what they’re doing. Playing with those guys has totally changed my approach to the kind of gritty blues and country music that I love. “I just feel lucky to be able to grow what I do. For example, I’m playing a gig in Nashville and a guy comes up, bought a shirt and a CD and said, ‘I love what you’re doing, I wanna have a jam with you.’ He was the saxophone player with George Thorogood and he’s actually laying some sax on the new album today. “I’ve been on the road in Texas a lot and I’m inspired by funny stuff, just looking at the world from a different angle. For instance, I was playing in this place and a politician said to me, ‘Shut the fffffff…ront door.’ I thought he was going to say something else, so I’ve got a brand new song called Shut The Front Door – but the F is extended.” WHEN & WHERE: 2 Nov, Grass Roots Music Festival, Mt Coot-tha; 8 Nov, Airlie Beach Music Festival
BULL’S EYE Cyclone flies all the way to Japan to attend this year’s Red Bull Music Academy, where she visits a temporary floating world and hears one artist namedrop our own Chet Faker.
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okyo evokes images of cherry blossoms, sushi, sake, cool nightclubs and specialist record shops. And so, despite the threat of that ‘super typhoon’ Vongfong, the metropolis provides a suitably hip location for 2014’s Red Bull Music Academy. The RBMA enables aspiring music-makers to hear lectures by industry legends, workshop and perform locally. It’s a big deal. Since 1998, RBMA had journeyed everywhere from Berlin to Cape Town to Melbourne. Amazingly, only now has Japan’s capital been chosen as a “muse”, the country long hailed for giving us cutting-edge music technology – and the Yellow Magic Orchestra. Historically, Japan’s outlook on foreigners was ambivalent but, following World War II, they’ve subversively adapted ideas from outside – fascinating everyone else in turn. The RBMA’s HQ is in Aoyama, bordering the party hub that is Shibuya. The towering building, a landmark, has been transformed into a contemporary ukiyo-e (‘floating world’), with an elegant lecture hall and studios. Works from domestic artists are exhibited throughout. In the informal dining area, beside which RBMA Radio is broadcast live digitally, is Chim Pom’s ‘Pikachu’ taxidermy rat – spray-painted chrysanthemum-yellow. This year’s RBMA has participants from world-over – including, for the first time, Kenya and Egypt. Australia is impressively represented with three candidates – one, 12 • THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014
Melbourne “tropical trap” DJ/producer Lewis Cancut, attending the two-week Term One. While the RBMA is associated with DJing, and electronic music, 2014’s edition has key guests from the R&B and hip hop scene. Media access to the RBMA is restricted to two days – and we’re invited in on the first Monday. We hope to corner Just Blaze, one of the elite studio team leaders. The US DJ/ producer famously laboured alongside Kanye West on Jay Z’s The Blueprint. Alas, he’s MIA. But we do bump into Vienna’s Dorian Concept, aka Oliver Johnson. The IDMster
BENJAMIN WRIGHT
is himself a former RBMA student – and asks after Perth’s Ta-ku from Barcelona in 2008. Johnson, who’s served as FlyLo’s keyboardist and collaborated with The Cinematic Orchestra, is currently promoting a Ninja Tune LP, Joined Ends. There are structured discussions with Isao Tomita – the Japanese composer who, in the ‘70s, recast Claude Debussy’s modern classical into a space-age soundtrack on his Moog synth, entitling it Snowflakes Are Dancing – and mercurial music director Benjamin Wright, Jr. Wright arranged Michael Jackson’s lavish Off The Wall. The latter session attracts a dapper Om’mas Keith, the Sa-Ra member who contributed to Frank Ocean’s channel ORANGE – and another tutor. The veteran Wright mischievously tells of how he was hired by André 3000 for The Love Below, and the OutKast rapper’s desire to emulate Frank Sinatra. The RBMA pupils, too, intrigue. Nairobi’s charismatic Blinky Bill, aka Bill Sellanga, who touts his style as “African electronic funk”, confirms that his handle, comes from the fictional koala. He also enthuses about ‘our’ Chet Faker. Small world.
THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014 • 13
music
THE SOLO BAG Returning to tour his second solo album, Gomez’s Ben Ottewell talks to Brendan Telford about looking his audience in the eye.
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o Australian audiences Ben Ottewell is the baritone crooner in much-loved English band Gomez, who over the course of their 17-year history has found a strong affinity with audiences Down Under. Coming back again in solo guise with second album Rattlebag in tow, Ottewell admits that the connection his music has made here has always made touring Australia a priority. “There is a real affinity there, people are receptive and I always have a great time,” Ottewell asserts. “There is never that internal wince when travelling to Australia; it’s been one of the audiences that have always enjoyed being part of the
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show. With Gomez in particular there is always this essence of fun, and unless you are a genius like (Tom) Waits where it’s all about them, they are the spotlight, they are the act – the audience should be involved. That is what a gig should be.” With Gomez on an indefinite hiatus, Ottewell has launched himself into his own material. Rattlebag was created in a more linear fashion than his debut Shapes And Shadows, and this immediacy coupled with his writing collaboration with Sam Genders (Tuung) has revitalised the songwriting process. “It’s definitely different [from Gomez], but the essential writing
AROUND THE WORLD Aqua’s René Dif turns back time to the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, bringing Aqua’s Greatest Hits to Australian audiences. Hannah Story revisits her childhood.
D
o you remember that time, in the late ‘90s, when every child knew the words to Barbie Girl? And then the entirety of the catchy bubblegumpop album Aquarium? As the millennium approached, 5ive were being 5ive, S Club 7 were having a party and Vengaboys were riding the Vengabus, but it was Aqua who have managed to stay in the global consciousness. René Dif, ie the Ken to lead singer Lene Nystrøm’s Barbie in their most famous single, while sleep-deprived, is cheerful on the phone to The Music. He’s found coffee
in his hotel, and the Danish electro-pop lord is ready to chat. “First of all we are very, how do you say, flattered, is that the right word, that all our fans and people Down Under want to see the Aqua team come down there. Last time we were there we had probably the best tour ever… We are like small kids in a candy store, looking forward to go Down Under. “You never get tired of playing a hit. That makes me sound bigheaded, doesn’t it?” He admits that it’s difficult for bands these days to reach the kind of success Aqua did so early
14 • THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014
process is the same. I still sit around with an acoustic guitar and write a riff where everything then grows from. There isn’t the eclecticism of Gomez where there are four voices and ideas informing the songs though. With Rattlebag there’s a lot more focus and it’s more chronological; on Shapes And Shadows there were songs that were six, seven years old. Patience & Rosaries is the kind of song I’ve always been writing, it was the prototype. Get Miles was like that, Blackbird was like that – it defined the songs for that album. Once I nailed that song I knew where I was going. Working with Sam, the great thing about it is he is so open to it. I always work best through collaboration, and Sam is like a mirror; it’s a collaboration in the sense that at its basest level he will ask me, ‘What’s this about?’ and I will have to stop and think, ‘Shit, was is this all about?’” With Rattlebag, Ottewell has crafted a suite of songs that flourish and evolve depending on the atmosphere of the night, which again puts the onus on him as a solo performer. “There was a bluesier focus on Rattlebag that can be brought out. I did a tour of the States as a trio with the guys I recorded with, and we were pretty fucking rocking! The idea for the record was somewhere between JJ Cale and Led Zeppelin III, so that tells you where it can go.” The intimate nature of this run of shows – Ottewell will be on his own – gives audiences a rare chance to get up close and personal, which Ottewell relishes. “I get to see people a lot more,” he laughs. “I get to look them in the eye. Or maybe I’ll close my eyes. It’s an odd thing to get used to.” WHAT: Rattlebag (Cooking Vinyl) WHEN & WHERE: 31 Oct, Black Bear Lodge
in their career: the success that lead to this, their second Greatest Hits tour through Australia. “Nowadays with a band they start with a single and it goes okay, and then the next single goes even better, and then they kind of hit it, but in our case we did our first album and it kind of just, most of the tracks just hit it right away. And that was as big a surprise to us as it was for our agent at that time. We just wanted to make really good pop music and spread some happy tunes. We had a good feeling about some of the tracks and we knew that they had something, but getting that reception as we did, way back, was mind-blowing. “I think when we peaked was in our eyes not early; we peaked with Barbie Girl, Dr Jones or My Oh My, then all of a sudden we had several #1s in the UK. We had #1s in Australia, in New Zealand, we had #1s all over Asia. It did a big impact in many countries, really great, and of course there was a game-changer for us in the sense that we knew we had good pop songs but we didn’t know they were would hit as hard as that.” The band, of course, has split and reformed since those early days. There’s potential for a little bit of awkwardness there – Dif and Nystrøm were a couple during the early days, but by the time of the band’s split Nystrom was actually married to keyboardist Søren Rasted! Dif laughs it off. “We’re all friends and we’ve been together since day one so of course [it’s not hard]. This is our baby. Aqua is our baby and it’s our, how do you say, it’s our place where we meet up and play music. It was not hard at all. It was fantastic I think.” WHEN & WHERE: 31 Oct, Eatons Hill Hotel
THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014 • 15
music
TREE CHANGES Having found success with her debut, Lanie Lane found a quiet place in the country to create what came next. And maybe found herself. Ross Clelland stops by.
E
ven as they handed her the gold disc for her assured cowgirl-costumed debut album, To The Horses, Lanie Lane was deciding to escape.
“I think I needed to get away from a lot of things,” she explains. “I’d been living in the city for ten years or so and never thought I’d not want to be in it.” Yet she eased out to a secluded corner of the Victorian countryside – and surprisingly began enjoying the silence.
“I realised how much I needed that quiet – just not being bombarded with the city’s buzz all the time. It’s not all bad – I go to Sydney or Melbourne now and it’s like a big amusement park. I stay at a hotel right in the middle of Sydney and you go past all the department store windows and all the traffic. But it just doesn’t seem real to me. It’s all consumer, and so all-consuming. “I now just feel connected to the people who are important to me, the things around me, and I can fill up the rest of the space with what I’m creating.” Three years on and the result is Night Shade, an altogether more personal
16 • THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014
record, as Lane processed her feelings, and looked inside and out. Or “just became a bit more of a grown-up,” as she half-jokes. The singer is still fond of her first record, but now sees it differently: “The music really wasn’t saying anything – it was a lot of random stories. This one is just more cohesive, a record of the time I’ve been through.” She even approaches the process around the album differently. “When you’ve done it once, you have some kind of idea of how it all works. Even doing interviews and stuff – the first time it was all about the things that were happening to me, the experiences rather than the music: ‘Oh, you worked with Jack White, you sang on a You Am I album’. Now it’s more about the things I’m passionate about, the things I’ve tried to express on the record.” ‘Intimate’ is a word often used in relation to Night Shade. Lane admits it’s sometimes not easy to be so honest in a song: “To look inward you got admit everything that’s in there, good and bad – it’s not easy. We all often avoid it; it’s risky, and it’s probably going to hurt. But if you do confront what’s there, it opens like a space inside you where creativity can bloom. It’s so rewarding when you let it happen. You can find some real peace with yourself.” That acceptance extends to her own creative process. “I haven’t written a song since recording the album,” she admits. “But I’ve got all sorts of visual ideas – for artwork, videos. I really can’t switch it on or off. I just go with what my brain wants me to do. Right now, I don’t think I’ve got anything new to say in a song, in a lyric – but next week I might, so I just let that happen.” WHAT: Night Shade (Ivy League) WHEN & WHERE: 15 Nov, The Hi-Fi
THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014 • 17
comedy
THE DARK KNIGHT He’s grotesque and garrulous – a mess of contradictions – but US funnyman Doug Stanhope is one hilarious human being. He tells Steve Bell why he’s not letting ISIS fuck up his daily routine.
F
or nearly 25 years now – his entire adulthood – US comedian Doug Stanhope has been on a mission to make people laugh. He might make you think about things quite deeply along the way – and god knows he’s pissed off enough people over the years with his no-holdsbarred approach and penchant for delving into the realms of the disturbing – but it’s still mainly about the laughs.
Now, finally, after all these years Stanhope’s trekking Down Under for an extensive run of shows to show Aussie audiences just what he’s made of. He assures The Music that he’s looking forward immensely to this Australian visit
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(“It’s on my bucket list – well my career bucket list anyway”), despite the fact it will mean coming up with a whole batch of new material. “Anytime you’re overseas you’re looking for material, because you know that at least half the shit you do at home won’t work,” he explains. “They don’t have that brand, that chain, that holiday, that season – just something’s fucking missing. Even the bits where you go, ‘Oh, this’ll work fucking anywhere!’ and you get halfway through and go, ‘Fuck, I forgot the big payoff in the middle here is something where they have no idea what I’m talking about’. But it makes you work.”
“[Stand-up is] the opposite of music – they get it perfect and then tour with it, but we start with shit and hope it ends up great. And then never do it again once you put it out [on a release]. Anything you can get off the top of your head is great though – or even stuff that just has a short shelf life, like stuff that’s in the news. Like if a football player beats his wife, that’s not going to be relevant in a year-and-a-half, but if it gives you something new to say tonight then that just keeps it fresh.” There seems to be a sincerity to Stanhope’s anger, where he rails against things that are actually pissing him off rather than manufacturing rage. “Yeah, and the stuff that pisses you off the most you’ve probably already done three different bits about on different releases, so you have to get second-string hate off the bench: ‘This hate is too tired, I need new hate!’,” he screams. “But [it’s not like I’m morally outraged] on a daily basis. I’m not at Safeway getting groceries screaming about ISIS, because ISIS doesn’t affect my day. America’s kind of the opposite of Afghanistan, where they’re so used to being at war that they just walk down the street with shells going off next to them and it doesn’t really affect them. We’re the opposite where we’ve been at war for so long that you just don’t care but your life is still fine. The beheading is outrageous until you watch the news and the next thing is Ebola, and then you turn the TV off and you’re right back to scratching your balls and drinking beer. It doesn’t matter.” WHEN & WHERE: 10 Nov, Byron Bay Brewing Company; 11 Nov, The Greek Club To read the full interview head to theMusic.com.au
HANGING SHIT Preparing to unleash his “cyber/punk-hop/cabaret”, activist Ezekiel Ox tells Brendan Crabb how fans helped further enable his railing against the federal budget.
I
t seems appropriate that The Music converses with Ezekiel Ox during a news day headlined by Gough Whitlam’s death and 360’s appearance on Q&A the previous evening. “To say that flag in fact is racist is not controversial,” the vocalist begins. “The Union Jack means nothing but attempted genocide, land theft, Stolen Generation to Aboriginal people… I think it’s interesting just how far right we’ve gone when 360 cops flak for those comments, when it’s just an accurate comment. If you want to be racist and say that it’s not okay to slag off the flag, well then you can go and join the fucking Nazi socialist party and we can all have fascism. But in the meantime, if I want to burn that fucking flag, I’ll burn it.” Ox’s conviction has certainly polarised audiences. However, those who have been enamoured by his social justice-fuelled excursions into heavy rock, funk, hip hop and more are rabid in their dedication. Said devotees pledged to the Melburnian’s anti-budget Pozible campaign, funding advertisements which simultaneously propagate his message in typically antagonistic fashion and emphasise his ensuing national headlining tour. “We reached our Pozible target at the halfway mark, and the point of the Pozible target was to raise money to hang shit on the government. So clearly there’s plenty of support from my fans for hanging shit on the government. Look at how unpopular this fucking budget is; what I’m saying’s 18 • THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014
not controversial… I don’t expect that everybody would agree with me on everything, but you’ve gotta keep that radical perspective out there. What I wanted to do is give people an opportunity to join in on letting people know just how negative a force the Union Jack has been on this country. Then looking how far backwards we’re going with the current attacks from this government. So the Pozible campaign was popular, not because I wanted to tour, but because people wanted to see me tour and hang shit on the government,” he laughs. “There’s obviously poetry, there’s dance; it’s really a cabaret
thing. It’s not like cabaret you’ve seen before. It’s a storyteller, a singer, an activist; it’s a guaranteed hour of shit-hot entertainment, I would argue. Depending on curfew and audience participation, really anything can happen and probably will.” If you oppose his views, you’re welcome to attend too. “Some people may find it confronting – racists, homophobes, misogynists, people that don’t like refugees – I think they would probably find it most confronting. There’s a few of them littered around this genocidal shithole we call Australia… Some people come because they want to have the arguments, and I fully respect that. I’d encourage anyone who wants to find out more about what the ideology that I’m spruiking is to just come down, and if you don’t like it, argue with me. Don’t punch people in the face; argue with them.” WHAT: Raw Styles (Bird’s Robe) WHEN & WHERE: 30 Oct, New Globe Theatre; 31 Oct, The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba
DRIVERS WANTED MUST HAVE A RELIABLE VEHICLE! (VAN, UTE OR WAGON)
Keen reliable couriers wanted to distribute our magazines every Wednesday morning on the Sunshine Coast. t Early start t Great part time work t Must have ABN
EMAIL: distro@themusic.com.au THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014 • 19
★★★★
album/ep reviews
THE SMITH STREET BAND
BERTIE BLACKMAN
Throw Me In The River
The Dash Warner
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Poison City Forget for a minute that The Smith Street Band have worked their collective arses off over the last few years playing to everyone, everywhere. Forget for a minute the band possesses a charismatic frontman in Wil Wagner, an everyman turned urban poet whose poignant tales of living in the big city have resonated with a large audience. You can even forget that the band have continued to churn out an impressive array of new material, meaning no one has time to get bored before the next set of tunes is upon them. No – none of these reasons really explain why The Smith Street Band has enjoyed such a meteoric rise. Instead, the answer lies in a simpler fact: these guys write catchy-arse folk-punk rock tunes, and Throw Me In The River does nothing to break the streak. Although there’s nothing as immediately memorable
here as, say, Young Drunk or Sigourney Weaver, this is an album that demands repeat listens. East London Summer and It’s Alright, I Understand will have bodies jumping at any number of joyous future live outings, and on Surrey Dive and Calgary Girls, Wagner continues his deep-seated need to bare his soul to strangers. If you liked the band’s last few records you’re going to love this one. Spin Throw Me In The River and prepare to have your faith in humanity restored, because when the sounds of The Smith Street Band hit your ears you can’t help but smile. Mark Hebblewhite
★★★½
Following Bertie Blackman’s career is like watching a computer program rewrite itself. It’s an astounding mission to put out five albums that never plough the same musical furrow, yet here they stand – as distinct as fingers. Number five takes its cues from glam-pop and new wave, a heavily processed collage that’s happier, more kinetic and bustlingly on point. Minute By Minute bounces with a youthful hustle that conjures the image of 32-year-old Blackman as HAIM’s smoky-voiced older sister. Run For Your Life is drum-poundingly high-vaulted. It seems odd, but it’s the backing tracks on this record that stand out (bubbling, syncopated synth-blinks) rather than the vocals, which, though impressive, too often slip into familiar, uninspiring grooves. In comparison to 2012’s oddball, idiosyncratic and perfectly stellar Pope Innocent X this is
★★★★
★★★½ polished, but perhaps excessively so. With this late stage bloom into internationalised dancefloor fillers, Blackman seems to be going the way of quasicontemporary Sia. Perhaps then she’s onto something. The Dash is well made, viscerally engineered and potentially a hit in waiting. Maybe we’re just not used to Blackman version five. Maybe her latest pique of reinvention has taken her well ahead of the curve. It’s just that, while the appeal of The Dash is undeniable, it’s also less unique. Knowing Blackman though, it’s not an endpoint to obsess over and dissect; it’s a way-station in a much longer journey. Naaman Zhou
★★★★
★★★★
YUSUF
FOOTY
LAGWAGON
THE OCEAN PARTY
Tell ‘Em I’ve Gone
Record
Hang
Soft Focus
Sony
Lost & Lonesome
Fat Wreck/Shock
Spunk
After a five-year break, Yusuf, formerly Cat Stevens, returns with Tell ‘Em I’ve Gone, a Rick Rubin-produced release that sees the man steer through blues and R&B, and delve into his old bag of tricks. The aforementioned blues and R&B kick in on Editing Floor Blues and the organ-filled Big Boss Man and it’s a niche Yusuf ’s storyteller vocal suits. Dying To Live has him tinkling on the ivories, while he asks “Why are we dying to live if we’re living to die?” The genre deviations are unexpected but make for an absorbing listen.
Melbourne piano duo with the incongruous name, Footy strip everything to the bone, confounding and bewitching. Consciousness is a haunting piece because of the silence echoing around the notes, with the overlapping soundbites of spoken word foreshadowing a burgeoning sense of tetchy apprehension. The balancing act between serenity and absurdity permeates tracks like The Price Is Right (yes, referencing Larry Emdur and steak knives) or the staggering shuffle of The Violence Of The Letter. It’s a challenging listen – Interlude derails rather than eases the listener into Heard Today – but Record rewards concentrated listens.
With nine years between albums, a lot of punters were under the impression the studio album release days from SoCal punk staples Lagwagon had come to a close. That’s where Hang comes smashing through the ether to offer up the best elements from the band’s comprehensive back catalogue. With the raw energy of Duh and Trashed, the aggression of Hoss, melody of Let’s Talk About Feelings and Blaze and bleeding emotion of Resolve, the band’s eighth record is a careerdefining record for the band.
Soft Focus is the follow-up to Melbourne band The Ocean Party’s excellent third album, Split, and finds the band capturing a broader audience. The quintet experiment with a wider sound palette, wrapping instruments in layers of production. Sundown trumpets send Went Out to the horizon, and a saxophone solo closes out the most upbeat number Head Down. Cut Throat rides gently on some twinkling composition and reflects the band’s ability to draw songs out into richer forms. Nothing feels gratuitous; every sound adds to the emotional story of the songs, with instrumentation carefully smeared through the tracks.
Carley Hall
Brendan Telford 20 • THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014
Daniel Cribb
Roshan Clerke
album/ep reviews
★★★½
★★★★½
★★★★
★★★½
THE RIPTIDES
DEAN BLUNT
ANNIE LENNOX
THEOPHILUS LONDON
Tombs Of Gold
Black Metal
Nostalgia
Vibes
Independent
Rough Trade/Remote Control
Universal
Warner
The long-lost debut from Brisbane-bred power-poppers The Riptides was recorded in 1981-2, but the tangled web of life prevented its release until now (many songs surfaced later but this version is as originally envisaged). Despite being remixed and remastered, some of the production flourishes remain of the era but it’s bright and punchy and the songs are routinely great. The familiar voice of Mark Callaghan (later of GANGgajang) spins typically engrossing narratives, highlights including the previously unreleased Sunset Strip ’81, the ska-tinged Holiday Time and the surfy near-instrumental Shake It. Non-stop fun.
Everything about UK artist Dean Blunt is provocative, from the title down to the sequencing of this album, which begins conventionally enough before rapidly departing into genredefying madness. He sounds like the lovechild of Tricky and The Tindersticks, his music owing much to hip hop and R&B, yet infused with an electro-folk weirdness. His lyrics are trite, delivery awful, music odd and esoteric, sounding at times like mutant karaoke, but it’s catchy, confounding as hell and also the most singular work of genius you’ll hear this year.
Nostalgia’s old tunes need a bit of analogue love in their melodies – call it ‘character’ or ‘heart’, or just some decent bloody feeling. The bulk is proper oldeworldy – a blues and pre-1950s business – and frankly, Lennox sings the shit out of it. God Bless The Child, Georgia On My Mind and Summertime have just enough restraint, while Strange Fruit is constrained in a different way – growled and unpretty, an acknowledgment rather than tribute. As a bonus, I Put A Spell On You does have an ‘80s stretch about it if you’re getting nostalgic for the Lennox of old.
Bob Baker Fish
Liz Giuffre
Theophilus London was ahead of the curve when it comes to hip hop’s current infatuation with ‘dance’. His mixtapes dabbled in a variety of styles, yet his debut album, 2011’s Timez Are Weird These Days, didn’t quite convey his full range. Now with Kanye West overseeing he delivers a follow-up that continues the fusion as he pairs his soulful voice and little raps with a range of tempos and (mostly synthetic) backdrops suggesting everything from Gary Numan to Prince to Marvin Gaye. At times it’s brilliant (Get Me Right, Heartbreaker), demonstrating, at the very least, London’s massive potential. Darren Collins
Steve Bell
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★★★★½
★★★★
★★★★
EXHAUSTION
JAMES WILLIAMSON
Biker
Re-Licked
CAVALERA CONSPIRACY
Aarght
Leopard Lady
Pandemonium
Ben Ottewell – Rattlebag
Exhaustion proves apt on second record Biker – an aural scouring with steel wool. The abject onslaught begins with Blunt Eyes, a squalling black hole driven inexorably towards oblivion by relentless drums, guitars throttled, vocals chanted and howled. It’s a brilliantly dissonant morass of motorik brutality. There are varying shades of rust and decay flaking off the rest of the tracks too – the smash-and-stab psych of Silver Fog and the scorched earth atonal malaise of Twin Lights. When the “light” comes in the form of the relentless Haus Flipper, you know you are in good hands.
This batch of songs penned by the Iggy Pop/James Williamson team in the years directly before and after Iggy & The Stooges’ 1973 magnum opus Raw Power haven’t been officially released until now (although bootlegs abound). Despite Iggy’s notable absence, it’s staggering how great they’ve scrubbed up. A raft of top notch guest vocalists (Lisa Kekaula, Bobby Gillespie, Ariel Pink, Mark Lanegan, Jello Biafra et al) bring the attitude while the band (featuring the remaining Stooges in parts) tear through what prove to be timeless tunes like the intervening years never happened. Inspiring.
Napalm/Rocket
Unearth – Watchers Of Rule Dorian Concept – Joined Ends
Brendan Telford
Steve Bell
Claims Igor Cavalera’s drumming while recording Pandemonium resulted in the cops being called affords appropriately headlinegrabbing press fodder, but remains highly indicative of the thrash racket created. Prolific sibling Max’s most ferocious offering in eons, his distorted, at times unrecognisable grunt the foil for a blindingly fast pace. Conspiracy largely differentiates itself from Soulfly by further embracing hardcore, punk and Napalm Death-esque grind roots. Shredder Marc Rizzo is in blistering form, and Converge bassist and vocal guest Nate Newton enhances the aggression.
Primus – Primus And The Chocolate Factory Daniel Lanois – Flesh And Machine The Pop Group – Cabinet Of Curiosities / We Are Time 750 Rebels – Kold Heat Crobot – Something Supernatural
Brendan Crabb THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014 • 21
live reviews
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE, LINDI ORTEGA, MARLON WILLIAMS The Tivoli 22 Oct Kiwi troubadour Marlon Williams has been a regular visitor to Brisbane of late, but this time he’s conscripted some local help in the form of The Gin Club’s Ben Salter (bass) and Gus Agars (drums), which fills out his singer-songwriter sound nicely. His deep, sonorous voice remains Williams’ main asset but he writes a mean tune as well. Next up black-clad Canadavia-Nashville country chanteuse Lindi Ortega takes the stage
plaintive Learning To Cry. Earle has been steadily building his profile here with repeated visits but this is the first tour where he’s been able to bring his own band, and he’s soon introducing his accomplished sidemen – Paul Niehaus (Lambchop, Calexico) on guitar plus the rhythm section from completely undervalued Texan outfit Centro-Matic, Matt Pence (drums) and Mark Hedman (bass) – who bring an easy fluidity and cohesion to proceedings. Earle only dropped his most recent album, Single Mothers, a few months back, but he’s about to release a companion piece named Absent Fathers, so we’re treated to the easy swing of a spanking new track Call Ya Mamma, before we re-enter more familiar territory with the languid Ain’t Waitin’ and then dart back for another untested track titled When The One You Love Loses Faith. Earle’s songwriting is
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE @ THE TIVOLI. PIC: STEPHEN BOOTH
with her guitar-wielding sidekick Champagne James Robertson, and they burst into the sprightly Waiting For My Luck To Change, before Ortega grabs an axe as well and they move onto Hard As This. Her smoky voice is sultry and expressive and she simply oozes both personality and sincerity, the duo offering a voluptuous rendition of Man In Black staple Ring Of Fire before moving back amidst Ortega’s own repertoire with When All The Stars Align and the yearningly gorgeous Heaven Has No Vacancy. The ornate room isn’t quite full but nonetheless a large midweek crowd has assembled to see rising prince of Americana Justin Townes Earle go through his paces, the lanky traveller wandering onto stage with his guitar to little fanfare and opening in solo mode with the perennial They Killed John Henry and the 22 • THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014
given, and before too long the full contingent return and throw in Christchurch Woman and Harlem River Blues before disappearing into the darkness at side of stage. Steve Bell
THE TEA PARTY, THE SUPERJESUS The Tivoli 23 Oct Sarah McLeod and her The Superjesus boys plunge into a set that bounces from old to new-ish, the classics and the offbeat. Ashes and Secret Agent Man sound fairly bottomheavy with Stuart Rudd’s bass and Tim Henwood’s guitar work sadly melding in the mix together, and some tech issues
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE @ THE TIVOLI. PIC: STEPHEN BOOTH
progressing in leaps and bounds, and while his stage show may have lost the twitchy appeal of his early solo tours in favour of a more streamlined band sound it’s no less compelling – the debonair title track from Single Mothers segues into the impossibly moving Mamma’s Eyes with complete panache. Earle launches into an offbeat diatribe about how Hank Williams would shoot today’s crop of country stars if they had the misfortune to cross paths – his speech randomly incorporating mentions of Slipknot and Insane Clown Posse – but soon we’re back into the swing of things, the jaunty If You Ain’t Glad I’m Leaving sounding brilliant with full band treatment before giving way to the gorgeous Someday I’ll Be Forgiven For This. He just keeps reeling off classic He finishes the set proper with Today And A Lonely Night but an encore is a
shredding, especially in Save Me, which also mutates into Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir and then Jeff Buckley’s Last Goodbye. It really does feel like Martin’s Tea Party now, prefacing the band’s biggest hits with either a segue that’s been used before or tales of his sex and drug intake that ultimately tore the band apart. His redemption is a fascinating one, but their live show walks a fine line between celebration and feeling a bit stale. After more than 20 years making music together, they have that many much-loved songs that even the band has trouble choosing which ones to play, and it’s a source of annoyance after a while when Temptation turns into Transmission, Sister Awake into Pulse, and finally The River into admittedly a fun take on The Rolling Stones’ Sympathy For The Devil. Sadly, it just makes the night fall a bit flat. Carley Hall
THE TEA PARTY @ THE TIVOLI. PIC: DAVE KAN
slightly hamper a husky ballad from McLeod during Jet Age. A slightly more swollen crowd greets The Tea Party boys when they saunter on stage, whipping out old strummer The Bazaar along with The Black Sea off their latest. The same seamless time shifts, jagged rhythms and Eastern flavours still work their magic now, and Jeff Martin’s bluesy wails never falter. But the man is larger than life sometimes, and some of his banter a tad indulgent, like when he asks, “You want to know what absolute power is?” before grinding out a riff. Bassist Stuart Chatwood and drummer Jeff Burrows are ever reliable, and Chatwood’s ringing keys in Psychopomp in particular are sublime. But there’s a distinct lack of engagement between Martin and his players; Chatwood and Stuart hang back a fair bit to let Martin do his over-extended
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MOS DEF @ SOULFEST PIC: AIMEE CATT
Soulfest @ Riverstage Out On The Weekend @ The Brightside
arts reviews viewing the exhibition when it arrives in Melbourne next year.
DAVID BOWIE IS
DAVID BOWIE IS Film
At select cinemas 14 Nov
★★★½
A documentary about an exhibition on David Bowie’s career and the many personae he’s had across it is undoubtedly an interesting concept. It’s entirely possible that with an exhibition of this magnitude, visitors are inevitably going to overlook certain details. This documentary not only offers a comprehensive history of Bowie, but also potentially catches things you might miss while
The exhibition features handwritten lyrics, record cover artwork, illustrations of set designs and too many costumes to count. The documentary is interspersed with live footage from the closing night of its run at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum. People like Jarvis Cocker and Kansai Yamamoto discuss Bowie, his career and his influence on them, authentic and heartfelt personal insights. Over Bowie’s long and illustrious career he’s gone through so many, um, changes, it can be a little difficult to maintain chronological order when looking back at his vast array of work. While this causes some moments of confusion of the what-happened-when variety, it doesn’t detract from the fact that this man is a living legend. Watching this documentary has only made us more excited about the exhibition, which arrives next year as part of ACMI’s Melbourne Winter Masterpiece Series. Hannah Valmadre
FINDING VIVIAN MAIER Film
In cinemas 6 Nov
★★★★ What’s the point of art if nobody sees it? In Finding Vivian Maier, amateur history buff turned makeshift detective Charlie Siskel gets thrown headlong into this debate, as he purchases a box of negatives at auction, only to find that the artist never wanted anybody to find them. What ensues is a structurally sound unravelling of the life of a mysterious nanny who took well over 100,000 astonishing photos, and showed nobody, content to lock herself and in turn her art away from the world, giving fake names to those she didn’t trust. Every new image that flashes on screen renders one overcome with an overwhelming gust of humanity in its most vulnerable form. Maier’s photography is often reminiscent of the ‘Humans Of New York’
concept, but the comparison feels glaringly unfair to Maier, who manages to capture the intricate complexities of humanity with far more finesse – no captions needed. While the film nails its third act revelation, it threatens to undermine its credibility with its interviewee balance. Comprised mostly of the children she used to care for, the interviewees possess a penchant for grandiose speculation. In the end, the subject has more substance than the product – likely by design, as it lets Maier’s work speak for itself, perhaps the very privilege she was afraid of being denied. Alex Michael
FINDING VIVIAN MAIER
THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014 • 23
24 • THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014
the guide
Member answering/role: Spencer Gulliver White – vocals, guitar and occasional keys tapper. How long have you been together? Coming up nearly half a year. How did you all meet? We met in an incestuous cult. You’re on tour in the van – which band or artist is going to keep the most people happy if we throw them on the stereo? Deerhunter. Would you rather be a busted broke-but-revered Hank Williams figure or some kind of Metallica monster? I want to own a Goat and a Goose at some point in my life.
ORPHANS ORPHANS
Which Brisbane bands before you have been an inspiration (musically or otherwise)? Ed Kuepper. What part do you think Brisbane plays in the music you make? Brisbane is the best. What reality TV show would you enter as a band and why? Family Feud. Lewis reminds me of the host. Grant ....? If your band had to play a team sport instead of being musicians which sport would it be and why would you be triumphant? Curling. What’s in the pipeline for the band in the short term? Ellen DeGeneres. Orphans Orphans play The Zoo on Thursday 6 November as part of the G20 Cultural Celebrations’ Long Player Sessions (covering The Dandy Warhols’ Thirteen Tales Of Urban Bohemia in its entirety).
Pic: Terry Soo THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014 • 1
eat/drink
...DID YOU REALLY JUST ORDER THAT? What drinks will have your bartender secretly judging you? Words Taylor Yates. Illustrations Sophie Blackhall-Cain.
SHANDY This is the kind of drink you order when you want to pretend you’re having a beer but are secretly worried your mum is gonna find out you drink alcohol. If you’ve never ordered one of these before, it’s basically beer mixed with soft drink. The epitome of uncool.
STONES & COKE You people really need to stop diluting alcohol that has potential to be awesome, with soft drinks. The flavour combination makes sense (ginger wine and cola), but seriously? No.
WHITE WINE & SODA You don’t need to make something fizzy even more fizzy. This one is a bit of a cop out for people with a sweet tooth who don’t want to order a cocktail because they’re want to look classy. It’s basically a cocktail disguised as wine.
FLUFFY DUCK
VODKA SUNRISE
First of all, this just sounds ridiculous to order. Any grown-up who struts up to the bar and says, “I’ll have a fluffy duck, please,” should immediately be directed to the door. What makes this even worse is that there’s two different versions of this cocktail – so any bartender who is lucky enough to get one of you people then has to ask, “Which Fluffy Duck are you referring to?” The horror. Basically, the two variations both contain Advocaat – the white rum version having white rum and cream, and the gin variation containing gin, dashes of orange liquor and orange juice, and topped usually with lemonade or soda water.
You are an amateur. This one is super easy to make, with it pretty much just being vodka, raspberry cordial and orange juice, and it’s so easy to make virgin that let’s just say if your bartender ran out of vodka, you wouldn’t notice. Perfect for preteens and people who have never been to a bar before.
KAHLUA & MILK Why not just add the vodka and make it a White Russian? Or cut the crap and just order a latte? You may think you look very grown up with your alcoholic coffee, but you people are grouped with those who order fruit tingles – inexperienced and desperate to look like you know what you’re doing.
COFFEE DON’TS Bartenders aren’t the only ones raising their eyebrows at you – baristas are just as guilty. But if you’re the kind of person who tries to buddy up with their barista, these are the terms to avoid: warm (so, so vague), no foam (um, do you mean flat white?), mocha without the chocolate (just ask for a latte), sugar-free syrup, (chemicals instead of sugar doesn’t make you healthy), and anything that takes more than two seconds to say – which is pretty self explanatory. Never complain that the coffee tastes weak and are you sure that there’s three shots in here. Asking for a double shot strong coffee makes you sound like an idiot. And also, never say “just the usual” unless you’re actually a regular who legitimately comes in every day and gets the same thing.
26 • THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014
the guide qld.live@themusic.com.au
INDIE NEWS
CHART WRAP
DOWN WITH THE BLUES
WORD!
ADOPTED SONS
Eddie Boyd & The Phatapillars have secured themselves a place at Bluesfest 2015. They’re making the most of their momentum with a national tour, playing Grottofest, Marburg and The Factory, Maroochydoore, both on 1 Nov.
Acoustic duo Jep & Dep have announced they’ll be playing a couple of shows in Brisbane to celebrate the release of their debut album Word Got Out. Catch them at Junk Bar on 31 Oct or in store at Jet Black Cat Music Store on 1 Nov.
At least, that’s what it’s beginning to feel like, with Good Charlotte lynchpins The Madden Brothers practically everywhere right now. With their single We Are Done having reached certified platinum, they play a concert at Gold Coast Convention Centre, 2 Nov.
WRONG INDIA
A BIT UNUSUAL
GOT WIND
Before they join The Rolling Stones down south at Hanging Rock, British India are swinging through Queensland launching their new single, Wrong Direction. Catch them 31 Oct in The Soundlounge, Gold Coast, and 1 Nov in The Zoo.
Musician and writer Robert Forster will speak with The Church’s Steve Kilbey in an event called Something Quite Peculiar. No doubt you will hear some interesting stories when the pair converse at Avid Reader Bookshop, 3 Nov, from 6pm.
The Windy Hills have a few local and inter-state gigs lined up in the coming weeks. To kick off the action they play The Northern, Byron Bay, 30 Oct against a backdrop of surf films.
A NEW CUPPA
JUST BE YOURSELF
LOCAL METAL
Brisbane’s Sleepy Tea have announced the release of their debut EP, Specks, coupled with a tour to celebrate. If dreamy pop is your thing, head down to The Flying Cock on 6 Nov. Neighbour, Hannah Rosa and MTNS DJs support.
Aussie rock trio, Picture Perfect, play The Bearded Lady, 8 Nov launching their new single, I Know You Better off their Well Alright EP. Jangly guitar sounds perfect for that nostalgic pubrock atmosphere, proving they really do ‘know you better’.
Daybreaker have scored the opening slot for Hellions (pictured) and Void Of Vision 7 Nov at The Brightside, while 8 Nov at The Lab all-ager, it’s Time Crisis, The Brave and Enfield.
ASTRALLY G20
ALL TALENT
THE MAESTRO
In conjunction with the G20 Cultural Program, 1 Nov Black Bear Lodge is hosting a free celebration of Brisbane’s emerging hip hop artists, The Astral Plane, featuring Astro Travellers (live), Jon (live), YUMO and La Shmoove.
After winning Australia’s Got Talent in 2013, Uncle Jed set out to prove they can continue to succeed when they place through Queensland, including 6 Nov, Joe’s Waterhole; 7 Nov, Currumbin Creek Tavern, and 8 Nov, New Globe Theatre.
Twenty years into his professional career, Ian Pooley is regarded as both a cult underground DJ and established mainstream producer. The German tech house master plays 7 Nov, Laruche.
FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU
LITTLE MAY
Canberra’s Peking Duk have followed up the chart-busting performance of previous single High with new entry Take Me Over, featuring SAFIA, earning them the secondhighest placing on this week’s singles ladder in the Carlton Dry Independent Music Charts. The lads were unable to topple the seemingly unmoveable Timmy Trumpet and Freaks, which remains atop the pile for yet another week, but are the first act to displace the top four for quite some time. The only other singles debut for the week, the self-titled EP from ascendant Sydneysiders Little May, comes in at #19. Veteran Aussie rockers AC/ DC, meanwhile, put in a strong showing in this round, with three of their tracks — new cut Play Ball and classics Thunderstruck and You Shook Me All Night Long — appearing on the charts, grabbing #5, #9 and #17 for the week respectively. The Delta Riggs achieved the highest full-length debut this week, with their new ‘un Dipz Zebazios settling in just outside the top five, at #6; once more, the top four (Missy Higgins’ Oz, Hilltop Hoods’ Walking Under Stars, Jimmy Barnes’ 30:30 Hindsight and Vance Joy’s Dream Your Life Away) remain unchanged, with Sheppard’s Bombs Away leapfrogging up from #7 last week to round out the “new” top five. Wonderfully, we also see a chart debut from an old favourite this week — Play School’s collection Favourite Things: Songs & Nursery Rhymes steps out for its first week on the ladder at #18. THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014 • 27
the guide qld.live@themusic.com.au
HAVE YOU HEARD
G20 FOCUS but we’ll probably blow them away with some sick beats! What world leader (past or current) would you most like to meet and why? Probably Martin Luther King Jr. He had such passion and expressed himself so beautifully with words.
THE GRISWOLDS Answered by: Christopher Whitehall How long have you been together? We played our very first show at World Bar in April 2012, so a bit over two years. How did you all meet? We all loved each other’s bands in the Sydney music scene, we’d go and watch each other play shows and heckle the shit out of each other. It was kinda a coincidence that all our bands fizzled at the same time and we decided to all join forces.
eyes on Lachlan’s moustache, there’s unfortunately nothing the boyfriends can do to save the relationship, it’s just over.
THE PHONCURVES
What reality TV show would you enter as a band and why? Temptation Island. If you’ve seen Temptation island, you’ll know what I mean, and yes, we will all lose straight away.
Will you be doing anything different for your G20 performance or treating it as just another gig? We’re involved in the Longplayer sessions, which is where each artist covers a whole album of another artist’s music. We are covering Love. Angel. Music. Baby. by Gwen Stefani. So it will be extremely different!
What’s in the pipeline for the band in the short term? Aussie tour, new single coming out soon, and probably start writing album number two! Website link for more info? wearethegriswolds.com
Is your band responsible for more make-outs or break-ups? Why? Break-ups. When girls lay
Answered by: Abbie Roberts, vocals
If an international delegate, politician or journalist happens to catch your G20 performance why will he/she be blown away? I think they’ll be blown away by Australian live music in general,
HAVE YOU HEARD
Is there a political component to any of your music? We write what comes naturally to us without aiming to incorporate any political statements. I really admire artists that do though, they are an inspiration. Can music actually usher in change on a global level? I would really like to think that it can. A piece of music can be very powerful and cut right to the heart of most things. When and where are you performing as part of G20? We are performing at The Zoo, on 30 Oct. Come and dance with us and throw around some Harajuku Girl Peace signs!
HAVE YOU HEARD
– what would it be? Claude Hay – I Love Hate You.
CLEVELAND BLUES Answered by: Ihaia (Cleveland) Pirere How did you get together? Not sure, really, it just happened; we meet, we played for four years constantly touring getting our name out there, then it all changed in a moment... I have a new drummer for now. Sum up your musical sound in four words? Swamp rockin’ stomp blues. If you could support any band in the world – past or present – who would it be? Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals.
Greatest rock’n’roll moment of your career to date? One of the first festivals I played, Festival Of The Sun, to 3000 people; it was the biggest high I’ve ever felt. The roar of the crowd was amazing. I’ve played a lot of festivals since then, chasing that feeling. Why should people come and see your band? ‘Cause we’re something different, and fun, a touch of old time to new age swamp rockin’ stomp blues... Original. When and where for your next gig:? I’ve got lots going on, with a festival coming up in Brisbane: Grass Roots Music Festival on 2 Nov. Website link for more info? reverbnation.com/ clevelandbluesmusic
S U P P O R T I N G
a box set: Tougher Than Tough: The Story Of Jamaican Music. Then I could moonlight as selector to the stars. Literally.
Answered by: Tony Hughes How did you get together? We all had a job at Taronga Zoo. We each had a different animal enclosure to clean. Yeah, we were shovelling shit. I had the elephant. Sum up your musical sound in four words? Sounds for modern lovers If you could support any band in the world – past or present – who would it be? Any band that let us use their back line and abuse their rock god rider. You’re being sent into space, no iPod, you can bring one album – what would it be? It would be
You’re being sent into space, no iPod, you can bring one album 1 • THEE M MUSIC U • 29TH OCTOBER 2014
KING TIDE
I N D E P E N D E N T
Greatest rock’n’roll moment of your career to date? I was walking down the street in Kings Cross and I heard a whiny voice pipe up and say “Heyyy, nice hat.” I looked around around and it was Bob Dylan. Why should people come and see your band? Because Bob Dylan said I have a nice hat. When and where for your next gig? Next gig Island Vibe Festival, 1 Nov. Website link for more info? kingtidemusic.com
A U S S I E
M U S I C
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FRIDAY OCTOBER 31ST
BALTIMORE GUN CLUB (9:00PM) + KOBRAKAI (8:00PM)
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 1ST
PIRRA (9:00PM) + SWITCHBLADE SUZIE (8:00PM)
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 2ND
EXPOSED ULTIMATE HEAT 8: FROM 7PM
MONDAY NOVEMBER 3RD
HAYDEN JOHN (9:30PM) + GUEST (8:30PM)
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THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014 • 29
the guide qld.gigguide@themusic.com.au Big Jim: Brothers Leagues Club, Manunda
THE MUSIC PRESENTS CW Stoneking: The Hi-Fi 31 Oct
The War On Drugs: The Zoo 10 Dec
Radio Birdman: The Hi-Fi 7 Nov
Gyroscope: The Brightside 11 Dec
Airlie Beach Music Festival: The Whitsundays 7-9 Nov Daniel Lee Kendall: Black Bear Lodge 13 Nov Gorguts: Crowbar 16 Nov The Smith Street Band: The Hi-Fi 21 Nov Davey Lane: The Brightside 21 Nov San Cisco: The Zoo 21 Nov, Alhambra Lounge 22 Nov (U18), The Northern 23 Nov Jungle Love Festival: Lake Moogerah 21-22 Nov Mullum Music Festival: Mullumbimby 20-23 Nov Dallas Frasca: 29 Nov Irish Club, 13 Dec, Solbar; 31 Dec, Bramble Bay Bowls Club The Delta Riggs: The Factory Maroochydore 5 Dec, The Triffid 6 Dec
The Acfields: Cafe Le Monde, Noosa Tim Lollback: Chalk Hotel, Woolloongabba Thirsty Merc: Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta
Festival Of The Sun: Port Macquarie 12-13 Dec
Non Cents with Scott Cleaver + Six Shooter + Chris Miller: Elsewhere, Surfers Paradise
Dallas Frasca: SolBar 13 Dec, Rock Central 31 Dec
GIG OF THE WEEK CW STONEKING: 31 OCT, THE HI-FI
Dead Letter Circus: The Hi-Fi 18 Dec Dallas Frasca & Shaun Kirk: Lefty’s 18 Dec, 19 Dec, Currumbin Creek Tavern; 20 Dec, Joe’s Waterhole Thy Art Is Murder: Crowbar 20 Dec & 21 Dec (U18) Real Estate: The Zoo 27 Feb Sharon Van Etten: The Zoo 4 Mar London Grammar: Brisbane Riverstage 7 Mar 65daysofstatic: The Hi-Fi 11 Mar Mojo Burning Festival: New Globe Theatre 21 Mar Bluesfest Byron Bay: Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, 2-6 Apr
WED 29
The Doug Anthony Allstars: Brisbane Powerhouse, New Farm The Zouk Social: Chalk Hotel, Woolloongabba James Reyne: Harvey Road Tavern, Gladstone Alan Kelly Duo: Nomads Noosa (KB’s), Noosa Heads Exogen + Special Guests + DJ Redbeard: Ric’s Bar, Fortitude Valley G20 Cultural Celebrations - Music by the River + The Verandah Chics + Emily Foster + Doyna + more: Riverside Centre Plaza, Brisbane
S U P P O R T I N G
Dave Ritter: Logan Diggers Club, Logan Central Des Reid: Loving Hut, Mount Gravatt
Shifting Sands + Kill Frank + Original Sin: The Bearded Lady, West End Hayley Grace: The Plough Inn, Southbank G20 Cultural Celebrations + Men Folk: The Scratch, Milton Cibo Matto + Richard In Your Mind + Ben Ely: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley
THU 30
Kodiak Empire + Skin & Bones + Heir Fuller: Beetle Bar, Brisbane The Vernons: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley The Doug Anthony Allstars: Brisbane Powerhouse, New Farm
I N D E P E N D E N T
Ezekiel Ox + The Twoks: New Globe Theatre, Fortitude Valley Joe Louis Walker: New Globe Theatre, Fortitude Valley Jouk Mistrow + Special Guests + DJ Valdis: Ric’s Bar, Fortitude Valley G20 Cultural Celebrations - Music by the River + The Verandah Chics + Emily Foster + Doyna + more: Riverside Centre Plaza, Brisbane The Brodie Graham Band: Solbar (Lounge Bar), Maroochydore DJ Godfather + DJ Bouche + Samedi Soundsystem + DJ Lame: TBC Club (The Bowler Club), Fortitude Valley Halfshark + Workshop + J Francis: The Bearded Lady, West End
A U S S I E
M U S I C
the guide qld.gigguide@themusic.com.au Blues & Roots Night + The Lyrical : The Elephant Hotel (Yard), Fortitude Valley G20 Cultural Celebrations - Jazz Showcase + Lateo + Guests: The Flying Cock, Brisbane
Frightside Horrorfest + Kissperience + Darkc3ll + Take Us To Vegas: The Brightside, Fortitude Valley
Captain Dreamboat: The Milk Factory Kitchen & Bar, South Brisbane
Tremors + Angharad Drake: The Crosstown Eating House, Woolloongabba
G20 Cultural Celebrations + Women Folk: The Scratch, Milton
DJ JD7: The Four Mile Creek Hotel, Strathpine
Elbow + Playwrite: The Tivoli, Fortitude Valley
CW Stoneking + Guests: The Hi-Fi, West End
Triffid Seeds feat. Hello Hoikkaido + Outliers: The Triffid, Newstead
Nick Saxon + Ashleigh Mannix + Animal Ventura: The Loft, Chevron Island
G20 Cultural Celebrations - Longplayers + Sahara Beck + The Phoncurves: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley
Adventure Land + Wayward Smith + Hushka: The Motor Room, West End
Tuffy: Victory Hotel, Brisbane
FRI 31
Ezekiel Ox + The Twoks: The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba Triffid Seeds feat. Avaberee + The Royales: The Triffid, Newstead
Fred Falke: Alhambra Lounge, Fortitude Valley
Superkaleida + The Skinnie Finches + Go Van Go: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley
Easter On Halloween! feat. We Become Ghosts + Ages Of Earth + more: Beetle Bar, Brisbane
Dubbaray: Vision Gallery, West End
Ben Ottewell (Gomez) + Buddy (LA): Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley The Doug Anthony Allstars: Brisbane Powerhouse, New Farm The DeLorean: Cardigan Bar, Sandgate Lucy Street: Chalk Hotel, Woolloongabba Irukandjii + Chronolyth + 4 Dead In 5 Seconds + Icarus Complex: Crowbar, Fortitude Valley Aqua: Eatons Hill Hotel, Eatons Hill Salvadarlings + The Ottomans + Donny Love: Elsewhere, Surfers Paradise Pirra: Lock ‘n’ Load Bistro, West End Seductive Soul: Logan Diggers Club, Logan Central Thirsty Merc: Mick O’Malley’s, Brisbane G20 Cultural Celebrations + Band of Frequencies + Good Oak: New Farm Bowls Club, New Farm G20 Cultural Celebrations Halloween Special + Six Ft Hick + Bertie Page Clinic + more: New Globe Theatre, Fortitude Valley Island Vibe Festival feat. Finley Quaye + Archie Roach + Black Jesus Experience + more: Point Lookout (Home Beach), Stradbroke Island Nundahstruck IV Halloween + Sixfthick + more: Prince of Wales Hotel, Nundah The Acfields: Rainbow Beach Hotel, Rainbow Beach G20 Cultural Celebrations - Music by the River + The Verandah Chics + more: Riverside Centre Plaza, Brisbane Halloween Party with Kristy Lee + Hussy Hicks: Royal Mail Hotel, Goodna
classies
Paul Kerin: Story Bridge Hotel (The Corner Bar), Kangaroo Point
Duck + Cheated Hearts + Mammoth DJs: Woolly Mammoth, Fortitude Valley Simply Two: Wynnum RSL, Wynnum Juice + DJ Jarrd + DJ Blitz: Wynnum Tavern, Wynnum West
classies.themusic.com.au MUSIC SERVICES RECORDING STUDIOS ALCHEMIX RECORDING STUDIO
BEN OTTEWELL: 31 OCT, BLACK BEAR LODGE Lepers & Crooks + Barefoot Alley: Solbar, Maroochydore
Mark D’s Big 3: Morrison Hotel, Woolloongabba
Nick Saxon: Solbar (7pm), Maroochydore
G20 Cultural Celebrations + UQ Big Band: New Globe Theatre, Fortitude Valley
Paul Kerin: Story Bridge Hotel (The Corner Bar), Kangaroo Point DJ Ritchie: Story Bridge Hotel (Shelter Bar), Kangaroo Point CW Stoneking: Tanks Arts Centre, Cairns RVLR + Woolpit + The Keepaways + Dead Wolves: The Brightside, Fortitude Valley We Were Kids feat. Yolanda Be Cool + DCUP: The Factory, Maroochydore Sasha: The Met, Fortitude Valley Transvaal Diamond Syndicate: The Motor Room, West End
SAT 01
Trace + Jezelle: The Plough Inn, Southbank
G20 Cultural Celebrations - The Astral Plane + Astro Travellers + DJ Yumo + Jon + La Shmoove: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley
British India: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley
Citizen Kay: Alhambra Lounge, Fortitude Valley
Dana Gehrman + Emily Massingham + Moses: Brewski, Brisbane Rock for the Reef feat. Ash Grunwald + Deep Sea Arcade + The Medics + more: Brisbane Powerhouse (Turbine Platform / Powerhouse Theatre), New Farm Long Shadows: Brothers Leagues Club, Manunda The London Cartel + DJ Damien: Chalk Hotel, Woolloongabba
Triffid Seeds feat. Tundra + Salvadarlings: The Triffid, Newstead
G20 Cultural Celebrations + Sahara Beck + Kristy Apps + O’ Little Sister: Windsor Bowls Club, Windsor Devils Kiosk + Trei & Tali + Mammoth DJs: Woolly Mammoth, Fortitude Valley Thirsty Merc: Woombye Pub, Woombye
SUN 02
Black Voices: City Hall, Brisbane
Ball Park Music + Millions + Pluto Jonze: Alhambra Lounge, Fortitude Valley
Drunk Mums: Crowbar, Fortitude Valley
Todd Terry: Black Bird Bar & Grill, Brisbane
Marina Prior: Empire Theatre, Toowoomba
Livespark + Zac Gunthorpe + Heath Cullen: Brisbane Powerhouse (Turbine Platform), New Farm
Trainspotters feat. Richard In Your Mind + The Good Sports + Tempura Nights + Gazar Strips: Grand Central Hotel, Brisbane
The Short Fall: Brolga Theatre (Riverstage), Maryborough
Mimi Macpherson: Noosa Reef Hotel, Noosa Heads Hanja: OMalleys Irish Bar, Mooloolaba
Marina Prior: Redcliffe Cultural Centre (2pm), Redcliffe Marina Prior: Redlands Performing Arts Centre, Cleveland Bearfoot: Solbar (Lounge Bar), Maroochydore Ben & Jerry’s Openair Cinema feat. Brother Fox: Southbank (Rainforest Green), Brisbane Big Kitty: Story Bridge Hotel (The Outback Bar / 3pm), Kangaroo Point Nick Saxon + Aquila Young + Josh Rennie-Hynes: The Milk Factory Kitchen & Bar, South Brisbane
MON 03
The Bachata Social: Chalk Hotel, Woolloongabba G20 Cultural Celebrations Music by the River + Jazzab + Bilge Ozgun + Sunas + CKNU + Gen: Riverside Centre Plaza, Brisbane
TUE 04
Fingerprint: Brothers Leagues Club, Manunda
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Cork & Fork Festival: Eatons Hill Hotel, Eatons Hill Live Jazz with Zoe Lindsay: Lock ‘n’ Load Bistro, West End G20 Cultural Celebrations Music by the River + Jazzab + Bilge Ozgun + Sunas + CKNU + Gen: Riverside Centre Plaza, Brisbane
The Church + Shem Allen: Old Museum, Bowen Hills
Royale with Stretch + Sessionkatz: Elsewhere, Surfers Paradise
Emma & The Hungry Truth + Michelle Xen: Old Museum (Studio), Bowen Hills
The Madden Brothers: Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre, Broadbeach
G20 Cultural Celebrations - A Prayer for Peace + Maggie & Tyrone Noonan + more: St John’s Cathedral, Brisbane
Ben & Jerry’s Openair Cinema feat. Teja Vu: Southbank (Rainforest Green), Brisbane
Island Vibe Festival: Point Lookout, Stradbroke Island
Matt Stillert: Habitat Restaurant & Bar, South Brisbane
Joe Satriani: The Tivoli, Fortitude Valley
The Cherry Dolls + The Ninjas + Tea Society: Solbar, Maroochydore
Pirra + DJ Valdis: Ric’s Bar, Fortitude Valley Recharge DJs: Russell Tavern, Dalby
Circle of Friends feat. Kristy Lee + Hussy Hicks + more: Miami Marketta, Miami
Marianas Trench: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley
British India + Magic Bones + Skyways Are Highways: Soundlounge, Currumbin
S U P P O R T I N G
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MUSICIANS WANTED
Norton: The Plough Inn, Southbank
Sweet K: Brothers Leagues Club, Manunda
Ger Fennelly: Mick O’Malley’s, Brisbane
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ALCHEMIX RECORDING STUDIOS
Island Vibe Festival: Point Lookout, Stradbroke Island
G20 Cultural Celebrations + Sydonia + Young Lions + Bound For Ruin + more: New Globe Theatre, Fortitude Valley
Locky: Chalk Hotel, Woolloongabba
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Melbourne Cup Garden Party + Various DJs: Woolly Mammoth, Fortitude Valley
I N D E P E N D E N T
A U S S I E
M U S I C
32 • THE MUSIC • 29TH OCTOBER 2014